Things are going well with the Emmett family. Scott has been working hard. But he is very good at balancing work and family time. It seems like we are able to spend more time together as a family and that is really wonderful! He has also been working on his guns as usual and loves ever minuet of it! I am working on loosing some weight so far i have lost 3 lbs. my goal is 5 lbs a month :) I should be at my goal by July! Dennie Has been doing Great! Besides the fact that she is having spasms again but the dr thinks it may be because she got sick (seizures can be brought on by sickness they call them breakthrough seizures) But if they keep happening this week we will increase one of her meds. Her teacher comes every week and every week we have a little more progress. Whether it be a new word or transitioning from one thing to the next without a huge fit! The program she is in has just increased her hours to 43 hours a month!! that's about 2 hours a day 5 days a week!! I am so excited this is going to take effect in April after we get back from Wyoming. I will try and keep this blog up a little more in the next month. It seems like its hard to write often when there isn't really anything interesting going on!

NEWS NEWS NEWS

So since my last blog a few things have happend. My daughter had a 24 hour EEG and it came back clear of hypsarrhythmia!!!! She still has the sizures however now they are not damaging. :) The dr put her on a new med and took one away . So now she is on two meds for seizures and seems to be doing well. The meds are much easier to giver her i just mix it in with some yogert and she eats it all up. and one is a little chewable pill that she takes with no problem!! :) I feel so blessed that my daughter is doing so well.. I know that all the prayers and fasting helped my daughter, and my faith in god has grown more in the last few months than it has in a long time.
I will be going back to wyoming for a month or so. I want to spend some time with family right now. My sweet husband told me he could man the fort while I was gone and is so sweet and understanding. Not exactly sure when I will be leaving but it will probably be mid or late Feb. Dennie of course will be going with me. I am excited to see my Parents and Grandparents and Siblings! Until the next blog TATA!!! :)

Dennie's Journey

Well as many of you may or may not know. Dennie has been going through some health issues these last few months... She has been diagnosed with Infantile Spasms and a mild form of West Syndrome. Her first EEGs showed Hypsarrhythmia, (that is disorganization in the brain) This can cause learning delays, regression and also retardation.The Doctors at Loma Linda Hospital Put her on ACTH right away. It is an injectable steriod that dennie had to have daily for about a month. This stopped her seizures and our hopes were high!! When we started whening her off of the ACTH she began having seizures again, The Doctor raised her dose of ACTH and continued for a longer amount of time than originally planned. After she was weind of it for and with out it for several weeks Dennie started having seizures again. After several EEGs and a new med called KEPRA. We were confident that things were getting better. Then out of the blue her seizures stared up agian! Although her seizures are MUCH less strong and less frequent than they were when she was first diagnosed. We decided that we needed a second opinion. So of to UCLA Medical Center. After a 4 Hour EEG we learned that it showed no sign of Hypsarrhythmia!!!! When we heard the news we were was SOOOO excited I felt as if I were going to cry right there in the Doctors office of pure happiness. The Doctor made it clear that given this was only a 4 hour EEG and the Doctor cant be 100% positive that the hypsarrhythmia is completly gone. We have high hopes that it really is gone. We are having a 24 Hour EEG in a few days I am excited nervious and a little scared. She has had a few seizures since that Doctor visit and the doctor has prescirbed another seizure med. After some tinkering with the dosage she seems to have less seizures than before. We will have much more information after the EEG. I will be sure to update on what happens.

Mean while Dennie has been learning so many new wonderful things. She has been having a teacher come in two times a week to work with her on her language and cognitive development. She has come so far in a short amount of time. Our goal is to have her ready to go into preschool and be right where she should be. She has a ways to go but we can do it. I will post more later on the kinds of activites we do with dennie to help her language progress :)
Thanks for reading !!
Love from the EMMETTS!!! :)